I'm looking at CRV's for the wife but I want the all wheel drive. Do any of you guys ever go off road much? I don't mean a rock crawler or mud wagon, just do the rear wheels really engage solid enough for sand ( like at the beach) or do they just partially kick in but still slip in the drivetrain?

 

I know some people over at http://www.hondasuv.com have done some light off-roading. Check there.

 

I do light off roading, I will pretty much do anything except crazy stuff like rock climbing. But seriously I've had water up to my fenders, going through crazy mud, sliding around on off road trails. Its probably more fun since I have a 5 speed though . In fact its almost more like rally driving, my wife's aunt has like 100 acres of land out in the middle of nowhere and there are some trails and stuff. I haul through there man its a blast.

 

...must...not....make...joke...

with less than a foot of ground clearance, how do you plan on going offroad more than any normal car. sliding around in mud =/= offroading, thats called light mudding.

with a crappy diff, basically front wheel drive, road tires, no low range, very small amount of wheel travel..how do you plan on actually off roading.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RangerJoe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...must...not....make...joke...</TD></TR></TABLE>
Wow man, I'm proud of you! Nice display of restraint.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">with less than a foot of ground clearance, how do you plan on going offroad more than any normal car.</TD></TR></TABLE>
A 2005 CRV EX AWD has 8.1" of ground clearence.
A 2005 Explorer Sport only has 8.5" of clearence.
A 2005 Jeep Liberty 4x4 only has 7.9" of clearence.

Hell, even a 2005 Jeep Wrangler Sport only has 9" of clearence.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sliding around in mud =/= offroading, thats called light mudding.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Light mudding vs light offroading? Is there really a difference?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">with a crappy diff, basically front wheel drive, road tires, no low range, very small amount of wheel travel..how do you plan on actually off roading.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Again, for light offroading (e.g. simple trails without large obsticles) a CRV would be fine. It won't handle the Rubicon Trail, though. Also, tires are always upgradable.

It guess it depends on how you define "off roading."

Again, I encourage you to check out http://www.hondasuv.com; there are people, such as the user above, that have taken CRVs off of paved roads.

 

Well I have modified the suspension a little, so it generally wont bottum out, and as far as the dif its not that bad, you just have to take care of it.

 

This might be a stupid question, but how well does the Realtime 4WD work on snow/ice? Is it similar to a Subaru's AWD system where power is split 70(F)/30(R) most of the time?

 

The dif is, the subbie will bias power at all times and in much great amounts than the cr-v does. I think the cr-v only does like 30% rear transfer under front wheel slipage & I think the subbie is more constant and does require slipage to have power all the time since its transfer case is directly linked to the tranny. I have taken it on ice a couple times. My pit was stollen a few years ago and around the new year I heard a report from some friends that they saw a black pit. So I spent a good four hours driving in the ice and light snow looking for him.
All I know is I was passing z71's and sport tracks left and right. It seems pretty confident as long as your ~40 and under, which no need to go even that fast on ice.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sushiboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Wow man, I'm proud of you! Nice display of restraint. </TD></TR></TABLE>
my anger management coach still hasnt gotten through to me

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sushiboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
A 2005 CRV EX AWD has 8.1" of ground clearence.
A 2005 Explorer Sport only has 8.5" of clearence.
A 2005 Jeep Liberty 4x4 only has 7.9" of clearence.

Hell, even a 2005 Jeep Wrangler Sport only has 9" of clearence. </TD></TR></TABLE>

did i say they were good at offroading? i was being nice when i said less than a food. and ground clearance has a lot less to do with being able to go offroad easily. suspension travel, grip, and having a low range gearbox mean quite a bit more

 

It is front wheel drive until the front wheels slip, then the clutch in the rear diff progressively engages the rear wheels. Works fine on getting around in snow and ice. I've tromped through over 6 inches no problem with decent tires. Just don't pop the clutch though on the five speed in the snow because the rear will engagement will not be so progressive and then WEEEEEEEEEE...you are suddenly facing backwards!

In other words, drive it gently like a front wheel drive in the slick and the rear wheels will lend a hand when necessary. Also handy in the rain to get into traffic too.

 

the crv isnt bad as an off road muddin machine....a few years ago i was dumb enough to try to take it mudding in about a foot off mud and another 1/2 a foot of water and i was kinda surpised at how it performed got stuck only once...still got my self out..i think with a good tire up grade it wouldnt have done bad at all

 

I drove my moms 00' CRV in like a foot of snow before and it sucked cause it kept slipping and sliding with no traction. I guess its alright compared to cars but its no Land Cruiser(unstoppable), Xterra, 4Runner, etc.

 

It should be able to handle it just fine. You dont need a big lifted 4x4 to do true offroading. Its all in how you drive. Drive smart and you can get that little CRV almost anywhere.

Im speaking from experience. If seen and driven little stock pickups in some crazy ****. They were able to handle lots of things my pre runner could handle. Granted they struggled a lil, but they still succeded. Just drive smart man, you can have a blast.

 

I do it all the time... in the mud every weekend